IFeelGoods Gets Funding to Help Retailers Cash-in on Social Currency

An online marketing and technology firm has secured $6.5 million in funding to drive retailers' sales and boost followers by helping them offer Facebook's virtual form of currency as an incentive.

IFeelGoods.com currently provides the technology for more than 20 well-known retailers to offer Facebook Credits as incentives for discounted purchases, newsletter signups, or software downloads. Those customers are currently big retailers like 1-800-FLOWERS, ShoeBuy, Shopping.com, and the Gap. In the fourth quarter of this year, smaller businesses will be able to sign up for the same kinds of incentives with a self-service feature on the IFeelGoods.com website, according to Scott Silverman, founder and Vice President of Marketing for IFeelGoods Inc.

"What gets me so excited every day about this opportunity is how large a market digital goods is right now and how little activity there has been to date by marketers and brands taking advantage of this as a marketing vehicle," Silverman says.

As of July 1, Facebook Credits becomes the exclusive currency accepted on the social networking site. This form of currency is purchased on Facebook using legal tender (i.e., U.S. dollars) transferred with a debit or credit card. The credits are then used to pay for popular games such as Farmville and Mafia Wars. An increasing number of companies accept Facebook Credits for other products or services delivered via Facebook. Warner Brothers, for instance, allows fans of the movie The Dark Knight to stream the film in its entirety from its Facebook fan page for 30 Facebook Credits, which can be purchased for $3.

Business Insider reports that as many as 200 million people are believed to have used Facebook Credits at least once.

Clients have offered Facebook Credits as an incentive for subscribing to a newsletter after "liking" them on Facebook, or for purchasing at a discounted price, says Silverman. The incentives are part of a trend by many businesses to migrate offline ad budgets from traditional marketers to online, he adds.

About the AuthorGreg Holden is AuctionBytes Contributing Editor. He is a journalist and the author of many books, including "Starting an Online Business For Dummies," "Go Google: 20 Ways to Reach More Customers and Build Revenue with Google Business Tools," and several books about eBay, including "How to Do Everything with Your eBay Business," second edition, and "Secrets of the eBay Millionaires," both published by Osborne-McGraw Hill. Find out more on Greg's website GregHolden.com), which includes his blog, a list of his books, and his fiction and biographical writing.

About the author:

Greg Holden is EcommerceBytes Contributing Editor. He is a journalist and the author of many books, including "Starting an Online Business For Dummies," "Go Google: 20 Ways to Reach More Customers and Build Revenue with Google Business Tools," and several books about eBay, including "How to Do Everything with Your eBay Business," second edition, and "Secrets of the eBay Millionaires," both published by Osborne-McGraw Hill. Find out more on Greg's website, which includes his blog, a list of his books, and his fiction and biographical writing.

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